"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." - John F. Kennedy

"You took the good things for granted-now you must earn them again. For every right that you cherish, you have a duty that you must fulfill. For every hope that you entertain, you have a task that you must perform. For every good that you wish to preserve, you will have to sacrifice your comfort and ease. There is nothing for nothing any longer." -George Washington

Please use correct English. Show the world Americans aren't illiterate.
There, their, they're are different words. Use them properly.
Lose and loose have different meanings.
"Im" and "Ill" mean nothing without the apostrophe.
Capitalization and punctuation are your friends.
Text-speak and hashtags get you into the ignore list.
Commas are NOT your friend when used in large herds......

That's a well balanced, thought provoking article. Ten years ago, I would have laughed, and muttered something about "conspiracy theorists", had someone claimed that our country was a police state. I've stopped laughing now, because I'm seeing some disturbing legislation and activities.

My mind is immediately drawn to the questions of "Why are we becoming a police state?" "Who is to blame?" and "When did this perceived trend toward aggressive policing start?"

As to why we are seeing this change, and who is to blame; I can only point the finger at us (the big "us" as in Americans, not the "us" monkeys).

The last thing we should do, I think, is to blame the LEOs. It is true that many people who join law enforcement organizations do so for all the wrong reasons, and I think that the Police Officers among us would agree. I know each of them have run into people in their departments over the years who should not have had a gun and a badge. Those of us who spent time in the military similarly knew many people who should not have been wearing the uniform alongside of us.

Blaming the LEOs for our slide toward a police state is as asinine as blaming returning soldiers for the Vietnam War. They, in general, are not the cause. They are simply the most recognizable symbol of the problem.

Our American society, I think, is the root cause; and our (the big "our") continuing trend toward lack of personal responsibility. Americans are, I believe, progressively showing less of a tendency to accept personal responsibility for our problems; and are progressively asking our government and police forces to take on more responsibility. The initial example used in the article bears this out. Once upon a time, people wouldn't have relied upon the police department to take care of a problem with a family member. It would have been a "family" problem. You would have called a sibling or a cousin, or perhaps a neighbor, to help you deal with an unruly family member with diminished capacity. You would not have called the police.

I see stories every few months about a schoolchild, some as young as five, being handcuffed and detained by the police; because they are throwing violent fits in the classroom or principal's office. The public are outraged at the police. How about being outraged by the total lack of oversight and personal responsibility being demonstrated by the parents of the child? If the child is acting this way at school, they are doing it because their parent(s) are allowing it.

I was called to a meeting with the principal and teacher of my teenaged daughter many years ago, and told that she had been disrespectful to her teacher. (She had recently come to live with us, after her mother decided that she "couldn't handle her any longer.") I asked if this had happened before, and was told that it had, but that the school "didn't like to cause problems" so they didn't notify me until this most recent incident. While looking at my daughter, who was at the meeting, I told her principal and teacher that I worked over an hour from the school, but that I would appreciate it if they would call me the next time they had a problem with her; and that I would be happy to immediately come up to the school and correct the situation - that I would take my daughter off school grounds, apply some corrective attitude adjustment, and bring her back to class, where I would assure them that they would have her full cooperation and respectful attention. I never had another problem.

I didn't expect the school system to teach my child manners, anymore than I expect the police to protect me from every threat that might present itself. It never occurs to me to call the police if I hear something bumping around my house at night. I figure I'll call them to help remove the body later, but I don't need them to protect my house when I'm in it.

Our society wants to be protected from every potential threat, and apparently also expects the police to handle disputes with our neighbors, to remove snakes from our yards, to get our cats out of trees, to investigate the things that go bump in the night, and to raise our children for us; but we don't want aggressive policing. We can't have it both ways. When you delegate responsibility, you have to delegate, or abrogate, the authority that goes with it.

I also wonder when America started accusing the police of overly aggressive policing. Is this a new thing, or is it simply coming home to roost for a larger segment of the population? I dare say that the non-Irish immigrants in New York felt that the the police under the Tammany Hall regime in the 19th century were guilty of overly aggressive policing; and the civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama on that "bloody Sunday" in 1965 probably didn't appreciate the attention paid to them by state and local police. I think most of those on the receiving end of that attention on that day would say, "Aggressive Policing getting you down? Welcome to my world."

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” - Voltaire

"It's not what you look at that's important; it's what you see." - Thoreau

"I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace." - Paine

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Jefferson

I would also consider the recent "liberal legislation " in many states limiting the right of parents to provide appropiate corrective actions to the misbehavior of their childeren... I have seen childeren contact 911 for child abuse and assault when their parent swatted them on the backside for misbehavior... when we were growing up the cop would have applied additional swats and returned us to our parent... now the parent was arrested and charged... the charge was later thrown out but the parent stayed a manditory 48 hours in the pokie and when he tried to turn the child over to child welefare agencies they refused and threatend additional charges of child neglect...

don't get me wrong I can understand a true case of physical abuse being illegal but they really need to work on the definition....

YMMV

In the matter of allies only two things are important. First, can he shoot? Second, will he aim at your enemy?

Ideas are more important then guns. If we wouldn’t let our opponents have guns, why would we let them have ideas? -Joseph Stalin

Heraclitus:
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

It's not like it was that far of a leap/fall//sidestep from nanny-state to police-state though. It's been a long time in coming and I know we've all used and are tired of the analogy but boiling the frog is as accurate as they come.

The problem is that we've had control over the heat the entire time and WE have been the ones turning it up on ourselves the whole time and have nobody else to blame.

When all is said and done it won't even be that nice of a guilded cage we live in that we've made for ourselves because it was outsourced and is made of lead and probably has formaldehyde in the walls and carpet...

Reluctor Dominatus - μολών λαβέ - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ​

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed. - The Second Amendment

I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. - John Galt

I have received NO government orders of any kind, public or secret (watch for this notice to be removed.)

It's not like it was that far of a leap/fall//sidestep from nanny-state to police-state though. It's been a long time in coming and I know we've all used and are tired of the analogy but boiling the frog is as accurate as they come.

The problem is that we've had control over the heat the entire time and WE have been the ones turning it up on ourselves the whole time and have nobody else to blame.

When all is said and done it won't even be that nice of a guilded cage we live in that we've made for ourselves because it was outsourced and is made of lead and probably has formaldehyde in the walls and carpet...

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I agree with DarkLight and it all started with the Social Security System and then the Welfare System. It has made generation after generation dependant on Big Brother. THEIR SURVIVAL are a monthly check and a voucher that pays their bills and with out would not be able to eat, have running water or even have a roof over their head. With each generation growing in numbers. I seen on fox the other day that the Social Security would be out of money 2013 and all Social Security programs would be a thing of the past by 2016

"If the Constitution and the Union established by our forefathers" were "restored" then there will be no truer supporters of that union and that Constitution than the Southern people. Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their Constitutional liberties invaded, would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectionary spirit nor can it be termed rebellion, for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption and for eighty years we have been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic and their written declaration which controlled our consciences and actions."(General R.E. Lee)

All I have to say is come up to where I live (Canadian Border). You can see for yourself that a police presence is growing. It has grown from having checkpoints only when it was 70 and sunny to now where they are running checkpoints multiple times per week. My wife (who said I was crazy about noticing this) now is a believer as she has to stop a whole lot more on her small commute to work.

I know the Feds and the states gives us unlimited DUI time for checkpoints and some of these depts are doing them every other day. Sometimes I enjoy doing them when it's warm and nice out to get out and B/S with the community. But Im not standing out there in 20 degree weather, rain and snow. I never seen a reason for the Goverment to give so much unlimited money for road checks. With the country going broke now before I make anyone mad I agree DUI is a problem across the US but me and the guys get most of ours when we are on regular patrol and I can see a road check two or three times a year but the way some of the places are going through money not good. Then you see they start doing joint road checks for other money and as an officer you can see it's a show of force to the public and why???? Ill leave that answer up to you I have my thought but safe to keep to my self with that one.

"If the Constitution and the Union established by our forefathers" were "restored" then there will be no truer supporters of that union and that Constitution than the Southern people. Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their Constitutional liberties invaded, would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectionary spirit nor can it be termed rebellion, for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption and for eighty years we have been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic and their written declaration which controlled our consciences and actions."(General R.E. Lee)

I can see the checkpoints on big drinking holidays for public safety(4th of july and new years). We dont really need thousands of people drunk out of their minds buzzing around but at the same time the local police departments seem to be more military than helping civs....

With a president who is dead set and determined to leave our borders wide open wouldn't you be more military?

It isn't just the police; during the past 3 plus years, America has turned into an armed camp.

Oh thank you 0bama for all the illegals for us to support in the style they've grown used to living.

Heraclitus:
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

I would also consider the recent "liberal legislation " in many states limiting the right of parents to provide appropiate corrective actions to the misbehavior of their childeren... I have seen childeren contact 911 for child abuse and assault when their parent swatted them on the backside for misbehavior... when we were growing up the cop would have applied additional swats and returned us to our parent... now the parent was arrested and charged... the charge was later thrown out but the parent stayed a manditory 48 hours in the pokie and when he tried to turn the child over to child welefare agencies they refused and threatend additional charges of child neglect...

don't get me wrong I can understand a true case of physical abuse being illegal but they really need to work on the definition....

YMMV

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This is whats wrong with society today, I agree when it's TRUE abuse something should be done about it! I have a friend who's son was being "difficult" and got swatted on the butt, someone else saw this and reported it. His son was taken to the emergency room and examined by a doctor & 2 nurses (he's only 10) for redness on said region, the father had to go to court twice ( the case was dismissed!), but something good came out of it, the son promised never disobey him again just so he wouldn't go thru the humility again!! (He was stripped naked and photo's taken for EVIDENCE!!) The father is considering legal action against the couple

I agree with DarkLight and it all started with the Social Security System and then the Welfare System. It has made generation after generation dependant on Big Brother. THEIR SURVIVAL are a monthly check and a voucher that pays their bills and with out would not be able to eat, have running water or even have a roof over their head. With each generation growing in numbers. I seen on fox the other day that the Social Security would be out of money 2013 and all Social Security programs would be a thing of the past by 2016

Click to expand...

I also agree, don't get me wrong! there are people out there that genuinely need help and I don't mind helping! But there are a great many who just abuse the "system" and get their "FREE LUNCH" so to speak. We on the other hand have to work hard to pay bills,own our home,and enjoy a few luxuries if we're lucky![whistle2]